The University System of Georgia, which has already had four consolidations of eight colleges and universities in the past several years, is now planning to combine Kennesaw State University and Southern Polytechnic State University into an institution that will keep the Kennesaw State name. The two universities are about 15 minutes apart and have a combined enrollment this fall of 31,000. The plan was announced Friday, and is already drawing opposition

Rumors of such a merger had been floating for years, said Professor Meighan Dillon, head of the Faculty Senate at Southern Polytechnic, though she found out the mercer was actually happening shortly before a press release announcement went out around lunchtime on Friday.

“This opportunity creates a new dynamic for us to raise educational attainment levels and enhance our ability to contribute to regional economic development,” Kennesaw State President Dan Papp, who will also serve as president of the merged university, said in a statement. “I look forward to working with the many talented individuals at both institutions in the coming months as we create a new institution.”

The university system's announcement also featured a quote from Lisa Rossbacher, the president at Southern Polytechnic. But she told The Marietta Daily Journal that she was not consulted and found out about the plan only a day before it was announced.

More than 1,800 people who are supporters or students at Southern Polytechnic signed an online petition opposing the merger. "We are dismayed by the closed-door, deceitful process through which the decision was made, and feel strongly that the cultures, identities, and missions of the two universities are incompatible," says the petition.